(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to brush seals and particularly to an improved method of manufacture and assembly of the components making up such a brush seal. The invention, although not limited thereto, is applicable to the manufacture of brush seals for use in machines between two relatively moving parts, or a moving part and a static part, for example between a rotor and a stator such as of a gas turbine and, in such an application, the seal will be of circular--i.e. annular--form. In a preferred form the invention relates to the manufacture of wire brush seals for machine parts, and to such seals themselves.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
A method of manufacturing wire brush seals is described in the Specification of British Pat. No. 1,450,553. In the method therein described, bundles of small diameter wire bristles are pulled through holes in a backing plate by means of looped wires and successive bundles wired together to form a brush, the brush so made is held between clamping rings, the radially outer ends of the bristles are welded, and the rings and wire ends of the bristle mountings are then machined away.